How to Upcycle an Antique Door – Part 2

In How to Upcycle an Antique Door Part 1, I showed you how I had painted brown on one side. Now I will show you what I did to the other side. I kid you not – this is by far the coolest project I’ve done and you could for sure do this yourself.

Step Two – Side Two:

Step Three – Side Two:

Bring back the antique look.

To bring back the antique look, paint on thinned out dark brown paint over the red, rubbing it off in spots with a rag to create the old world-ish look. This gave it quite a dramatic look compared to the other side of brown on brown.

I could only gawk when I saw the result – absolutely amazing. Have you ever done a project that turned out so well that you couldn’t believe YOU did it?

Step Four – Side Two:

I did this because I want to be able to flip it over and use the brown side. The plan was to use this door as a hall tree with coat hooks and mirror with a bench.

In order to be able to flip the door to use the brown side rather than red I needed to figure out a way to take off the hardware and use it on the other side without a big ta-doo. My DH, mastermind of all good things, figured it out.

We attached the hardware by drilling through the door and using a screw and nut to attach each piece. That way, when I want to use the other side, I’ll just flip it and move the hardware over to that side and attach it the same way.

I attached a mirror my daughter gave me for a Christmas gift a year ago. I used the (afflink) Hobby Lobby knobs to hang the mirror with the same method I used to hang the coat hooks, by drilling a hole and securing it with an nut and screw.

The door knob has a key hole on the back that made it easy to just hang it on on a screw secured with a nut in the same way as the other pieces, also from (afflink) Hobby Lobby.

Be sure to anchor the door to the wall.

At one time my door was just sitting against the door and a grandson knocked into it and it fell over.Fortunately the wall on the other side caught it before doing any damage.

A homemade hall tree is not only less expensive, but it’s a one of a kind that fits your decor because you chose each color and added hardware piece – not to mention that it means so much more to you if you’ve created it yourself.

This is the mirror that was attached with the knobs in both upper corners – btw, see that clock you see in the mirror across the way? I snagged it at (afflink) Hobby Lobby a few years ago for $8 on clearance.

The coat hooks are very sturdy, both in workmanship and how they are hung so they will make a great rack for guest coats.

The door is securely anchored to the wall, but can easily be taken off and flipped, though I don’t think I will get tired of the red any time soon.

So here you go. From this:

To this:

For now we have a little antique bench in front, but plan to replace it with a larger, sturdier wooden and even maybe upholstered bench. That too will have to be removable so I can use it on the brown side.

This was not only an EASY project, but fun as well! My 9 year old grandson helped me with it. Sanding, painting and mounting hardware – with a little vision you can do great things and walk away pleased with your project.

I just came home from a week in Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised to see this new hall tree when I walked through the door. Such a great surprise to see my project right there, greeting me! Do you want that type of satisfaction?

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Sheila, it took me a bit to get brave enough to use the red – especially since I didn't want it to be bright, hence the brown paint over it to tone it down. The entry way is such an important way to greet friends, you are right!

Beth, just grab a can of spray paint and go at it – no skill required and you learn how to do different looks as you go along and get braver after each project. Really, go for it and let me know what you’ve done! Thanks for coming by.

Oh, Christina! You definitely need to become a DIY’er – it’s so much fun and rewarding. I love coming home to my finished projects, especially this door I just did. It a nice thing to see when you walk in the door. It doesn’t hurt to show it off to friends either!

Ooh, this is so cool! And thank you for all the detailed pictures, they help DIY posts so much. Now if only I had an old door lying around, I'd surely do something like this now that I see how great it looks!

SW wife, you might find an old door at a garage sale or auction this spring. People like to get rid of stuff that’s been sitting around during their spring cleaning – I know I need to! Let me know if you find one and what you end up doing with it.

Isn’t that the truth, Laura? One man’s junk is another woman’s treasure. We throw away way too much stuff and turn around and buy new. I think this economy has turned things around a bit. People are becoming so resourceful. Thanks for visiting.

Stunning!! I love this! I so wish I were more creative and could create stuff like this. My husband and I are planning to build a home in the next couple of years and I will definitely keep this bookmarked for future projects!

Oh my goodness! That is simply beautiful and innovative. I love what you did with the color schemes too. I wouldn't have though about using an old door to put together an entryway bench. Now I wish I had an entryway 🙂 I simply love this. 🙂

Keelie, you can put an old door so many places! How about a headboard or on the wall behind your couch with a shelf at the top? I saw in a furniture store here in town a room that the walls were covered in old doors. My newsletter had a link to a building out east that had the outside covered in red doors top to bottom!

Wow! That is amazing. I do not have a crafty bone in my body. All decorations in our home are compliments of my husband (who fortunately has very good taste.) Hope you have a chance to sit back and enjoy your beautiful work now that it's done!

Great ideas! This looks gorgeous! My husband and I just spent a bunch of time looking at coat hooks and such for front doors. One that we found was very similar to this (not a door, but the same size and made of hardwood) but way too expensive for it! I'll have to show him this and say "all we need is a door!" 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

Very creative and so pretty. I'm redesigning my kitchen and now I'm seriously considering using an old door as a splash back. I can see it now with lots of hooks for hanging pots and pans. Thank you for the inspiration. x

Phyllis, when I got these doors (I have several) I had no idea what I was going to do with them but I found a place. I bet you could too. I’m thinking about making a headboard for my new king bed in our guest room. I thought about using them to line one wall or a half wall. Send me a photo when you find your perfect spot in your home.

I love this project so much! I just got back from a vintage market with my sister and we were wondering about what kind of wax to finish things off with. I'm sending her this post right now to tell her "go look at Menards".